[LG V10 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] joesee:
When everyone asks about the V10 and audio quality, you first need to ask yourself what you expect to hear as far as difference goes between a DAC and the standard Snapdragon DAC. If you don't know how to answer that question, than you probably aren't looking for the right phone. If you have a pair of headphones that can show you the difference between a track with a noisy floor and not, then you probably should look at the V10. I use a pair of Westone 4r IEM's. Audio quality is about what *you* hear.. *your* opinion, not others! Understand that wanting Viper working in tandem with the DAC is not an example of audio quality. The purpose of the second DAC is to present you with the closest reproduction as possible to the source - without equalization, in this case - Viper.

That being said, using Viper with this phones built in Snapdragon DAC, there's very noticeable loudness over nearly all other phones on the market, but that is not audio quality, that's audio gain. Big difference!

I've got a V10 T-Mo version. I also have a T-Mo LG G4, M9 Dev edition Note 5, S6 and a Moto X Pure 2015. You just need to sit down and weigh the pros and cons of the phones you decide to pick from. Don't accept personal opinion because they will all be biased! I took my $500 headphones into the store and listened to each one. People thought I was crazy! I love and hate things about the V10. The G4 was extremely laggy until I put CM13 on it. I am absolutely blown away by the battery life I get on it now! AND it has the same Snapdragon 808 DAC that everyone raves about in the V10.

V10 has:

1) buggy fingerprint reader when a case is on the phone (a google search will show this - I hate having no case)

2) LCD bleeding on the second screen (found on many blogs - as mine does)

3) poor battery life considering the 3,000 mah battery and idle with just stock apps (my personal experience as well as others)

4) The inability to root and change the LCD density. Doing so causes FC's upon boot and you have to factory reset. This has been an issue for months and will remain until a a dev finds a work around. Seriously, this phone has a larger physical screen but you see less on the screen than any other phone I've listed!

5) GREAT camera, but LAGGY shutter times. It's unfortunate. Camera can keep up with the S6 camera in the right conditions but that's just the thing.. "right conditions" and how long it takes from pocket to snapping that photo.

6) EXCELLENT built in dual audio system. Viper DOES work with the built in DAC - but the ESS chip lowers the gain (can't go as loud) so most all people I've read in blogs say they just use viper on the stock Snapdragon 808 DAC. Googling will show how to enable the DAC on all apps, not just the stock.

7) EXCELLENT build quality, though some don't like the rubber texture of the back

I'm probably the only one here that will tell you out of all those phones they would choose the G4. (See, that was a biased answer.) Previous posters are right in saying if you're looking for the best sound, get a V10 (It edges out the HTC m9 and obliterates the S6) - but make sure you're willing to overlook its downfalls.

The biggest piece of advice I can give anyone is - There's ALWAYS a catch! Make sure if you're willing to live with that devices catch and you're good to go!

Out of the phones I have (again - biased personal opinion)

Best Camera - Note 5

Worst Camera - Moto X Pure

Best Audio Quality - LG V10

Worst Audio Quality - S6

Best Audio Loudness - LG V10

Worst Audio Loudness - Moto X Pure (which is odd because it's the same 808 Snapdragon.)

Best Battery - Note 5 (It's a matter of physics)

Worst Battery - LG V10

Best Build - LG V10 (Sorry, but they give you removable battery and microSD)

Worst Build - Moto X Pure (it's also the cheapest - lies... i'm sorry.. it's actually $399 which is what they are still selling the G4 for)

Best feel in the hand - S6

Worst feel in the hand - LG V10 (C'mon.. the thing is a tank!!!)

Easiest to root and install 3rd party ROM - G4 hands down! It's as easy as any Nexus device I've ever owned

Hardest to root and install 3rd party ROM - HTC M9 - but only because I had to pay $25 to unlock the bootloader with the SunShine app.

Hope my 2 cents helps!

Cheers!!!